Russian FM says bid to revive Black Sea grain deal 'not realistic', accuses West of direct fighting in Ukraine

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, on Saturday (September 23), said at a press conference that the peace deal proposed by Ukraine and the latest UN proposals to restore the Black Sea grain initiative were both "not realistic."

"It is completely not feasible," Lavrov said of a 10-point peace blueprint promoted by Kyiv. "It is not possible to implement this. It's not realistic and everybody understands this, but at the same time, they say this is the only basis for negotiations."

He then said that the dispute would be resolved on the battlefield if Ukraine and its Western allies stood by that stance.

Lavrov further elucidating Moscow's reasons behind leaving the Black Sea grain initiative, said that promises made to Russia, which included removing sanctions on a Russian bank and reconnecting it to the global SWIFT system, were not met.

He said the latest U.N. proposals to revive that export corridor for Ukrainian agricultural products were "simply not realistic".

Lavrov accuses West of direct fighting in Ukraine

Lavrov also accused Western countries of direct fighting with Russia through their support to Ukraine.

He said that the Western powers had effectively entered direct war against Moscow by backing Ukraine.

"You can call it anything you want, but they are fighting with us, they are straight-up fighting with us. We call it a hybrid war, but that doesn't change things," Lavrov told a news conference at the United Nations.

Zelensky urges member nations to strip Russia of veto power in UNSC; Lavrov responds

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday (September 20) denounced the Russian invasion, calling it 'criminal' and urged other member nations to strip Moscow of its veto power.

“We should recognize that the U.N. finds itself in a deadlock on the matter of aggression. Humankind no longer pins its hopes on the U.N. when it comes to the defence of the sovereign border of nations,” he said.

"Veto power in the hands of the aggressor is what has pushed the UN into a deadlock. It is impossible to stop the war because all efforts are vetoed by the aggressor or those who condone the aggressor," Zelensky continued.

After Zelensky's speech, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov defended his country's veto power in the UNSC as a "legitimate tool" of international relations.

"The use of veto is an absolutely legitimate tool laid out in the (UN) Charter," said Lavrov.

The Russian leader also accused the US and its allies of “egregiously and openly” interfering in the domestic affairs of Ukraine since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

(With inputs from agencies)

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